I just finished three days hunting with a Lyman All-American 4x and a Leupold FXII 3x20. Mostly I hunted with the Lyman. Sadly I left my binoculars on the kitchen floor when I went to camp.

The Lyman has a tapered post and crosshair reticle, and seemed very clear for a scope that age. Not quite clear enough. A deer came out of the thick woods into the thin woods(50% canopy hard wood just logged last winter)I was hunting with about 15-20 minutes of legal light left. In other words it was dim, but not dark. The deer was an accurately measured 70 yd. away. I thought I was shooting a doe, but when I got to him I found a nice six-point. He had a tall rack that I just never saw with that scope. The scope worked great for aiming and shooting, just not seeing fine detail. With the various antler restrictions I have to put up with I'll have to be more careful when and how I use this scope.

The 3x20 has a standard duplex, but that may have to change. With 15 minutes left the thin section had disappered against most backgrounds, but the thick section could still be seen. At the end of the day I sure was missing my 6x42 with a #1. The 3x20 will have to stay though, because it is on a Savage 99.

One feature that binoculars need is something to prevent me from leaving them at home or at camp. Maybe just paying more for them helps.

Congrats on getting the deer. Those old Lyman 4X All Americans were the first scope that I liked for woods deer. I have a number of them both Perma Center and the original and most have crosshairs.

My need for a scope was to see that the deer had at least a 3" spike in Vermont. For me those scopes did that job well. I can't recall a low light failure or many incidents of low light however.

I had one fog up from days of steady rain on my 99 back in 1968.

That scope is quite common here in CT on used rifles.

Here is another one that came on a recent acquisition.

I still have a Lyman 10 power Target on one of my 22 hornets. Still works great.

I sold one of the Perma Center 4x recently, and am now experiencing sellers remorse.

Ted

Back in their day, I had both a 3X and a 4X. I thought they were great, rugged scopes. I don't remember what happened to the 3X, but the 4X, which is about 50 years old, now resides on my Ruger 10/22.

I've had several, 3x, 4x, 6x. Only have a 4x All American Perma Center now, and it's resolution is great, amazing for a scope over 20 years old and not the benefactor of modern coatings.

The only fault I have on it is eye relief; somewhat less than I'd prefer, but it hasn't hit me yet.

Scopes for aiming. Binos for identification.

Works for me. Worked for you.

Now - about those binos on the kitchen counter...

This one isn't the perma center. I had a plain cross hair perma center that I traded away. I don't reget the trade, because that plain cross hair didn't work for me. Today I returned from hunting with my binoculars , but no more deer.

I feel your pain.

Properly equipped, nothing happens.

Go hunting in Birkenstocks and you have to drag...